JEDIDIAH PLANET SAVING GUITARSUniting tone, beauty, and ecology, Jedidiah Planet Saving Guitars are here to redefine what a guitar can ultimately achieve! Hand-built by luthier Jedidiah Wiebe, these guitars are the pure expression of one man's devotion to nature.

Luthier’s Manifesto

Materials:

For me the quest for incredible sounding wood is an never ending adventure. In my quest to make the perfect guitar I have discovered a nearly untapped tonal resource. To me it is an astonishing irony that today’s guitarmakers have for the most part completely overlooked the amazing potential of reclaimed wood. It is widely known that aged wood sounds superior to young wood. This is partially because over time the volatile resins which dampen tone evaporate, and polymerous resins harden. Furthermore, and of great interest to me since I use wood which is not only old, but upcycled, the lignins which bind together the celluloses of the wood loosen up their chemical chemical bonds over time and vibration and stresses of use according to Dave Cohen – GAL 117 (citing Hutchens, 1998) Thus the ineveitable conclusion is that most precious wood for building guitars is consequently NOT found in the trunk of a tree slashed to the ground last month in the Amazon, but instead must be carefully selected from old wooden structures and items. The astonishing tonal richness and clarity that you hear when you play one of my guitars is the aged wood finally unleashed to resonate at it’s full potential – telling its story of a previous life – as an item of fine furniture such as a table, a radio, a dresser, bridge trestle, or even the millions of footsteps felt by an exotic hardwood floor!

Stable Necks:

All Jedidiah guitars (now including nylon string guitars) come fitted with top of the line two way adjustable truss rod.

While many luthiers utilize carbon fiber rods in the necks of their guitars to add stability and improve tone, I’m one of few to have taken this technology to a whole new level. I’ve developed my own groundbreaking technique to form the carbon fiber inside the neck instead of merely gluing pre-formed rods into recesses cut into the neck blank. In doing so I achieve unprecedented stability and responsive tone because the carbon fiber itself is crafted as an intrinsic part of the neck instead of as an afterthought. Additionally this process allows me to extend the stability and resonance transferrence of the carbon fiber through the entire headstock instead of ending at nut like in all other carbon fiber reinforced guitar necks.

Finishing Touches:

My standard finish is a high gloss lacquer or optionally a hand rubbed polymerizing oil varnish. In order to preserve the tonal integrity of the instrument this finish must be of highest quality and as thin as possible. In my quest for the ultimate guitar finish I have arrived at the conclusion that the absolute best products on the market are U-beaut Hard Shellac, an entirely unique biologically-based NTFP cross linking formulation which, unlike shellac is as durable as polyester finishes (harder than nitro!) And Liberon Finshing Oil, (plant based) which I was turned onto by renowned luthier Keven Aram of Devin, England. These products are at the absolute forefront of the industry in not only their durability, beauty, and suitability to guitar production, but meets my rigorous environmental standards.

Finally each instrument is set up with the extreme precision only executed by a true luthier to achieve perfect intonation and effortless playability.

Inlay and Animal Products:

Due to the fact that the materials for traditional shell inlay are harvested utilizing non-sustainable fishing practices I do not utilize inlay materials that are harvested by slaughtering animals. Instead I cut soft gemstones and other rock materials for my inlay. Other inlay items (including the tiny strips of wood in the binding and rosette) are all manufactured in my own shop from recycled wood and tree stumps.

The nut and saddle on a Jedidiah instrument, is made of guilt-free natural bone. When making the nut and saddle I select the hardest whitetail deer antler sheds. These are collected in the forest by me, and are naturally shed by the deer each year. This is a harvest of bone-like material that causes no pain, and interferes with no natural cycle of the forest. Prehistoric Mammoth tusk from Yukon is also available for nut, saddle and inlay.

*Note: I do use animal based glue because of its unrivaled acoustic superiority, but do not see this as an assault on the environment due to the fact that it is obtained as a byproduct from otherwise would-be waste of the industrial meat cutting process. Completely Vegan instruments are happily made available on request!